The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

Take a trip to the Yorkshire village of Burley Bridge, where a very special little cookbook shop is about to open its doors.... In the beginning...Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn't an issue that 'Cooking with Aspic' can't fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You. Forty years later.... On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop.

Every Woman for Herself

First comes marriage. Then comes divorce. Then it's every woman for herself …Every Woman for Herself is a hilarious account of divorce and dating from Sunday Times bestseller Trisha Ashley. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Carole Matthew, the country setting and rom-com storyline make this the perfect summer paperback. When Charlie's husband Matt tells her that he wants a divorce she has to start from scratch.

The Little French Guesthouse: La Cour des Roses, Book 1

When Emmy Jamieson arrives at La Cour des Roses, a beautiful guesthouse in the French countryside, she can't wait to spend two weeks relaxing with boyfriend Nathan. Their relationship needs a little TLC, and Emmy is certain this holiday will do the trick. But they've barely unpacked before he scarpers with Gloria, the guesthouse owner's cougar wife. Rupert, the ailing guesthouse owner, is shell-shocked. Feeling somewhat responsible - and rather generous after a bottle (or so) of wine - heartbroken Emmy offers to help.

Good at Games

How does one become accidentally engaged? That's what Suzy Curtis thinks when she suddenly finds herself very publicly engaged to handsome Harry Fitzallan, local town hero. Harry wants famous rock star Jaz to be his best man - only Jaz is Suzy's ex-husband and a recovering alcoholic. Suzy's half sister, Lucille, loves getting to know the family she never met, but she can't help her attraction to Jaz, nor can Suzy quash her entirely inappropriate feelings for Leo, Harry's engaged brother.

You and Me, Always

On the morning of her 25th birthday, Lily Harper opens the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight. Learning about the first and only real love of her mom's life is a revelation. The same momentous day, Lily meets Eddie Tessler, an actor fleeing fame who could change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend, Dan, has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

The Song of the Skylark

Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job, and with no money in the bank Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her 90s, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you....

The One You Really Want

When Nancy discovers that the expensive jewelry her husband's been buying isn't for her, she decamps from the Scottish countryside to her best friend Carmen's posh Chelsea town house to sort things out. Nancy finds herself in a surprising new world, where rock stars are nicer than you thought, social workers are not necessarily to be trusted, and the filthy rich are folks with problems just like you.

Don't Want to Miss a Thing

Dexter Yates loves his fun, carefree London life; he has money, looks, and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope? Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood - a much better place to work on his parenting skills - and he and Molly become neighbors.

The Olive Branch

It's amazing what you can buy online these days: memorabilia, fashion accessories, a crumbling Italian farmhouse.... After a Prosecco-fuelled girls' night in gets out of hand, Ruthie Collins awakes to discover that she has bid for her dream Italian home online - and won. Recently out of a relationship, a new start is just what Ruthie needs. Anything is better than sleeping on her mum's settee.

The Dandelion Years

Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl, providing a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood. Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and, as a book restorer ,devotes her days tending to broken, battered books. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible, Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love....

The Enchanted Island

When Maeve O’Brien’s boss sends her to a dreary old island to finalise some paperwork, she couldn’t be happier. It’s the career boost she needs to become a fully fledged lawyer - besides, it hasn’t been so great on the home front in Dublin. Maeve’s oldest friend and flatmate has kicked her out, and moving back in with her uptight mother has been less than cosy. But her reception on Hy Brasil, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, couldn’t be any more hostile - it’s as if the island itself wants her gone.

One Plus One: A Novel

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math-whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can't afford to pay for. That's Jess' life in a nutshell - until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess' knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages...maybe ever.

Publisher's Summary

Tina Devino is a moderately successful romantic novelist who longs to enter the realms of bestsellerdom. But her own life is a world away from that of her romantic heroines.

Her off-on lover, the exotic former Russian ballet star, Sergei Popov, seems to be drifting away, and her position on the Salubrious Press fiction list is threatened by younger, more glamorous authors. She knows if the sales of her latest book don't improve dramatically, it might be her final novel.

Can Tina face up to these challenges and achieve the fame, fortune and happy ending to which she aspires?

I had a hard time with the narrator right from the beginning, but stuck with it because I love Trisha Ashley. The foreign accents were off-putting.

What could Trisha Ashley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

This book had none of the charming, quirky characters who are so real in Ashley's other books. I should have listened to the previous reviewer who said the main character wasn't likeable enough. Again I might have liked her a little better with a different narrator, but she didn't improve on further acquaintance.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rachel Atkins?

I loved the narrator of Every Woman for Herself, Julia Barrie, and would love to hear her do all Ashley's books. Please, Audible!

Anyone who has ever written a book or even just wanted to, should listen to this. It manages to make you laugh out loud while inwardly cringing at the way it strips off the veneer of publishing and writing. Prepare to lose all your illusions about the 'gentlemanly' career of publishing, while all who have to engage writers as speakers, either at short meetings or longer writers conferences, should read it to find out what writers really feel about the treatment they get at some places.

I do hope that many more of Trisha Ashley's boooks will be published by Audible. They are ideal light listening.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Marilyn

Bottesford, Nottingham, United Kingdom

2/7/10

Overall

"Expect the unexpected from Trisha Ashley ..."

Does Trisha Ashley read the reviews about her books posted by readers? Tina Devino, authoress and main character in Happy Endings does. So if you?re reading Trisha, this one was certainly different and I loved it!
The book is unusual in that it is written almost entirely without dialogue. It is a monologue by the main character, Tina Devino, interspersed with letters to and from either the clients of her literary review service or her friends and family. And although I think to describe the book as autobiographical may be going a little too far, I?m sure its content has been influenced by Trisha?s experiences in the book publishing world.
I felt that Rachel Atkins? portrayal of Tina?s voice and mannerisms greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the book.
So to anyone thinking of reading ?Happy Endings?, don?t expect a romantic male hero ? there isn?t one. But then Tina doesn?t want a traditional romantic male hero ? she really only wants Mondays! One thing this book had in spades was humour - it made me laugh! I particularly liked the string of pearls. And Tube man ? this is what happens when you create dreams and fantasies around a stranger!
A very enjoyable book!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wendy

Nottingham, United Kingdom

2/2/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"slightly disappointing"

I absolutely love all of Trisha Ashley's books however this one was quite different. if you aren't a huge fan of hers, you may well like it as its a good story, just not what I expected. The heroine is not as likeable as her normal books and made it a bit more difficult to 'root for her' as I have with all the others I have read/listened to.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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